The Radavist

In 2015, I was able to partake in the launch of the Cutthroat, Salsa’s Tour Divide Race Bike, a unique drop bar 29er and since then, I’ve had zero contact with it. That is until I unboxed the brand new 2020 Cutthroat, which is full of new updates and boy is it a long list. While I plan on reviewing this bike in more detail further down the road, I wanted to give you a look at the new model on its launch day. Read on below for a first look at the new Cutty.

Salsa Cutthroat, Much More Than a Tour Divide Rig
Words By Spencer Harding, bike photos by Spencer Harding, with action shots by Locke Hassett

While I was able to finagle this incredibly snazzy bike solely for the purpose of reviewing a framebag on it, I figured why not squeeze a bike review out of it as well? First things first, I’m not a huge fan of riding drop bars and as I mentioned before I’m no ultra-endurance racer, which is precisely what this bike is designed for. So, I may be a fish out of water in that regard, but I think there is still plenty of potential in this bike for us humans who enjoy riding less than 200 miles a day and more than 2 hours of sleep a night.  At face value, this bike is fast, when you point this thing down a dirt road and put some muscle into the pedals it fucking moves, it doesn’t much care for going slow.  When using a combination of the magtank 2000 and two stem caddy style bags, the bike actually couldn’t turn sharply at low speed, but this bike was designed to haul ass on the Tour Divide, not make low speed technical turns.  Lets delve into the specifications and all that jazz…

Seth’s Land Run 100 Salsa Cutthroat
Photos and words by Jarrod Bunk

Seth’s Cutthroat is a Testament to having one bike that can do a lot of things well.  Seth has raced the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, DK200, and completed Land Run 100 more than a few times, this bike was ridden 10,000 miles last year alone.  Local knowledge certainly paid off for him as I’m told he didn’t have to walk any of the hike-a-bike sections. It makes sense to see a 38c tire on a MTB then, especially with the notoriously muddy terrain that can take you from 30MPH to zero in a flash. Those Prototype 38c Vittoria Mud Tires were proven that day, from the loose slick climbs, to the bombing descents they never skipped a beat.  Last year was probably the worst year for mud, ever, and the Shimano Di2 drivetrain worked flawlessly, even when caked full.

If you’re thinking about riding Land Run this year sign up is live – I know a few people from the Radavist will be there – and you can bet Seth will be there ready to rock as the cannon fires this year. What bike will you bring?

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Follow Jarrod on Instagram, and Land Run 100 on Instagram

I first met Jay Petervary back when Salsa took me on the Cutthroat launch on the Tour Divide. Admittedly, Jay was friendly, but you could tell there was apprehension. He was about to embark on the TDR on a new bike and had plenty of other things to think about, rather than making small talk with a photographer / blogger. I hadn’t seen Jay in years, until this year’s Saddle Drive when he greeted me with a smile and a firm handshake. Jay’s like that. He’s the nicest guy you’ll meet, but like all athletes, before a race, he’s reserved and focused. Catch him post-race or at a Salsa event and he’ll wax poetic tales of racing, or just shoot the shit in an intoxicatingly positive manner. The dude has a smile as big as his accolades.

After hearing that he brought this year’s TDR Cutthroat to Saddle Drive, I really wanted to photograph it. There’s something telling about a bike, all dusty and sated, that you just can’t get from documenting a show bike, or something that’s brand new. This bike has character and best of all displays Jay’s personal choice when it comes to products. Industry Nine wheels, a power meter and a mix of Salsa and Bike Bag Dude bags. There’s nothing overtly corporate or branded about this rig. It’s punk rock from a dude who has nothing to prove at this point in his career.

Jay, you keep on ramblin’ round the world, doing your thing and I’ll catch up to you again in the near future. High fives, buddy!

There’s nothing like taking a brand-new bike and throwing it into the proverbial fire.

Bikes like this are not meant to be babied, nurtured, wiped down with a microfiber cloth, and sprayed with chemicals to make them look shiny. They’re meant to be abused, smashed, shredded, and put to the test straight out of the gate. Especially bikes specifically designed for arguably one of the most intense endurance races in the Continental United States.

The Salsa Cutthroat is what I would call a first for the company, in the sense that it’s a bike designed for a specific event: the Tour Divide Race.

Stories. We all have to have stories to coincide with photos right? Nowadays, someone has to get lost, or their life threatened, or lose a battle to nature’s mood swings. Catastrophe, calamity and someone’s a casualty of what everyone seems to be dubbing “adventure.”

Truth is, a bike ride is hardly ever an “adventure.” Much less a bike launch. I don’t like that word: “adventure.” It tends to envelop so much of our day-to-day lives, especially those of us who spend a great deal of time outdoors. Was it an adventure? No, it was a hike. Or we went swimming. Or we got lost for an hour. “Adventure.” It’s been watered down, branded, packaged and delivered to us in a freeze-dried, waterproof pouch. We share our curated lives exposed through meticulously VSCO’d / Photoshopped vignettes on Instagram.

While this may seem cynical, I can assure you it’s far from that. It’s more of an explanation, or a primer if you will and here comes to the top coat: while the word adventure’s definition is subjective, the spirit of conquest is the thing that ties all facets of that word together. For some people, conquest lies in what others might deem an obtainable task. For others, it’s something so far-fetched that it’s more of an impossibility than a probability… Whatever it is, “adventure” means different things to different people, but we should all be more creative in how we define it. According to my opinion anyway.

Without getting too far ahead of myself here, I have to admit the giddiness flowing through my veins at the moment. I’m in Banff, Alberta at the start of the Tour Divide Race, arguably one of the most intense self-supported off-road races. I’m here with Salsa Cycles, and while we’re not doing the entire TDR, we are riding a three-day section of the race. Why? Because Salsa has supported racers and riders in the TDR for years and all the time and energy put into supporting athletes who train for to events like this has culminated in a bike that’s just being launched.

At this point, if you’re even reading this still and haven’t sprung right into clicking through the gallery images, I need to point out that Salsa champions the drop-bar off-road touring and racing bike. They love the hand positions, the unique stance and the options for drivetrains. That said, over the years, they’ve perfected what is arguably their best “all-road”, dirt-tourer: the Cutthroat.

This June, Meaghan Hackinen set out to compete in the Tour Divide. While no stranger to big rides or bikepacking races, this would be Meaghan’s longest off-pavement adventure yet. After a neck-and-neck race with Ana Jager, Meaghan reached Antelope Wells in a time of 15 days and 23 hours, winning the 2024 women’s division (7th overall) and setting the fastest women’s time for a grand depart.

In this reflective essay, Meaghan weaves together snapshots from her experience while exploring the invaluable but less visible support network that helped her achieve this Tour Divide win. 

Supporting photographs from Seth DuBois, Alexandera Houchin, and Megan Dunn

Since posting our first look back in April, John’s been putting in miles on the Kona Ouroborus Supreme and finally wrapped his head around not only how to classify this bike but also what its best use case is. Is this the next stage in the evolution of gravel bikes?

Two of our contributors, Spencer Harding and Jarrod Bunk, spent some time on the new Salsa Cycles Tributary gravel e-bike earlier this spring. Each used the bike to help transport themselves and camera gear while photographing various cycling events where a car would have otherwise been used. Today, we look at their first impressions and some details from Salsa‘s lineup of new 2024 e-bikes.

Pivot Cycles’ Vault gravel bike has plenty of amazing tech securely (wink wink) stashed in the frame making for a comfortable and uncompromising riding experience. Spencer is ever chasing something other than geometry inflation to review and Pivot’s patented ISO FLEX technology caught his eye. Make sure you take a peek inside the Vault for all the hidden treasure below…